Page 8 of The Highlander's Princess Bride
“Quite the opposite. According to Arnprior, he enjoys his studies and is a gifted musician. One of the reasons Dominic recommended you was your reputation as an excellent music teacher.”
Her tension unspooled a bit. This, at least, was familiar ground. “That makes sense, I suppose. But I can’t help wondering why the boy struggled at school.”
“He’s sickly,” said Alec in a somber tone. “Almost died from a lung infection a few months back. That put a proper scare into Arnprior, so he decided to bring him home and find a teacher who could work with Kade on his music.”
“Poor boy,” Victoria said. “Now I understand why his lordship would wish to hire someone like me.”
Under the circumstances, a fragile, sensitive boy might be more comfortable with a female teacher because she would treat him more gently than the average male tutor. And since music was one of her specialties, it seemed a logical fit.
“But that makes only four brothers,” she said, wishing to get the entire family sorted out. “Who am I missing?”
“That would be . . . Braden. Yes, that’s the lad’s name,” Alec said. “He’s not yet twenty. He attends the University of Glasgow. An exceedingly bright lad who wants to be a physician, from what Arnprior told me.”
“So, my only pupil will be Master Kade?” Even Dominic’s vague description had intimated that she’d have more than one. Something wasn’t adding up.
“It does sound like that,” Alec said in a cheery tone. “By the by, Dominic says you’ll be setting up your own school once you get this Kendrick lot sorted out. I have no doubt you’ll do a bang-up job of it, too.”
Victoria crossed her arms and gave him a level stare. “You can’t distract me with flattery, you know. You’re being only slightly more helpful than Sir Dominic—which is to say, not very helpful at all. Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Alec’s eyes rounded in a credible pretense of innocence. “Haven’t a clue, lass. I’m just telling you what I know. It’s not like Dominic takes me into his confidence.”
She allowed her expression to convey her rank skepticism. When he responded with a bland smile, Victoria shook her head with disgust. “You are not fooling me for an instant, Alasdair Gilbride. It’s immensely irritating that you won’t come clean. I’ve a mind to box your ears.”
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t dream of speaking so bluntly. But she was tired, cold, and heartily sick of spending day after day cooped up in a carriage. If she were a better person, she would apologize. Victoria was beginning to discover, however, that she was not quite the person she’d always imagined herself to be. It astonished her how the act of killing a man altered one’s vision of oneself.
Alec didn’t seem the least bit put out by her flash of temper. “You sound exactly like my old village schoolmistress. She was a tartar, that one. Scared the wits out of me.”
“I’m sure I don’t scare you in the least. And youarefibbing, aren’t you?”
He held up his hands to signal surrender. “I’m mostly in the dark too. I do know that Arnprior needs a governess for Kade and possibly a little help with the twins. Just in maintaining a good example in the household,” he added hastily. “There hasn’t been a lady in residence at Castle Kinglas in years, and I think Nick believes that having an educated, genteel female around the place will provide a good example for everyone.”
“Lovely—a houseful of ill-mannered Highlanders, ones I’m expected to tame by virtue of my saintly presence. I can only hope Lord Arnprior fails to discover that my previous employer accused me of murder.”
Alec pressed her gloved hand. “You’ll be fine. And I promise I will not leave Kinglas until I’m certain everything is to your satisfaction. No tossing you onto the front steps of the castle and heading pell-mell back to Glasgow, I swear.”
She gave him a reluctant smile. “I would certainly hate to have to chase after you for my bags.”
His expression grew serious. “You’ll make a splendid impression on everyone, Victoria. But I will repeat Dominic’s advice that you’re not to discuss the events of the last few weeks with anyone. Not even Lord Arnprior.”
“It wasn’t really advice,” she said dryly. “More like an order.”
“I can well imagine. But Dominic is wiser than any of us, so it’s best to do as he says.”
She couldn’t help wondering if the rest of her life would be premised on a lie. It wasn’t a very appetizing prospect. “I promise.”
He gave her an approving smile. “Good. Then there’s no need to speak about Fletcher or any of that dreary business again.”
His tone signaled that the discussion was over. Alec was a genial, easy-tempered man, but Victoria was beginning to think that, in his own way, he could be just as bossy and overprotective as Dominic and Aden. Since she was used to making her own decisions, she didn’t know whether to be touched by that or annoyed.
“And now,” he said, brushing aside the half curtain from the coach window, “We’re almost there. You might want to snag a look.”
She followed his pointing finger. As the carriage emerged from the woods, the sun broke free of the towering gray clouds that had shadowed most of the journey. The starkly angled light illuminated a dramatic landscape of craggy outcroppings and steep-sided hills covered with fiery autumn foliage rising to the jagged, snow-dusted peaks. She blinked, momentarily disoriented by the blaze of color. It was beautiful but strangely unnerving, as if the landscape had gone up in flames.
“It’s quite something, isn’t it?” Alec murmured as he stared at the vista. “By the time I returned from the war, I’d almost forgotten how amazing the Highlands are. I felt like I was waking up after a long sleep.”
“Yes, it’s lovely,” she said politely. It was also rather . . .portentouswas the word that came to mind, along withremoteandwild. She’d spent most of her life just outside of Brighton, in a comfortable, bustling village that was none of those things.
“We should be able to see Castle Kinglas after we round this bend.” He pointed again. “We’re coming up almost parallel to the loch. Kinglas is at the base of the glen, right on the water.”
